1339 Ojarvis (1/2)
There were six mages concealed in corners of the room. The female officer who was Ojarvis's servant was a silver grand swordmaster as well. Everyone looked at Saleen as he said, ”Nailisi is capable of Ultimate Shapeshifting, but she wouldn't have done such a thing.”
”And why should we believe you?” An old, withered mage was heard saying from behind Ojarvis. Saleen eyed the mage with his blue eyes. This old mage looks like he is about to die, and… Man, he is a level-11 mage! However, he would never have been able to advance anymore. His life seemed to be like a lamp that had run out of oil. The wick was the only thing left, and the flames looked as if they were about to be extinguished. Even if he were to advance to level 12, it would not have extended his life by even half a day. A mage's life was extended as they advanced, but there were conditions to it. The mage in question needed to at least be brimming with life force. Someone like Saleen, who had managed to become a sorcerer at a young age, would have been able to live more than 1,000 years.
”Because I said so,” Saleen answered.
Ojarvis coughed and covered his mouth and nose. Saleen smelled blood.
”I trust Saleen. Say no more. The reason why I called Saleen here was to have him deduce, using astrology, as to how the enemy managed to infiltrate the royal palace.”
Saleen took a look at his wife's brother. The emperor, who was about to pass, did not seem to harbor any negative emotions from the look in his eyes. It was hard to see any emotions found within. He seemed to be in an unusually calm state.
”Astrology has its limits, especially in a place like this.” Saleen did not agree to Ojarvis's request, as using astrology to deduce something of such importance would have made his astrology jump to level 11 right away, if he were to succeed. The terrifying thing about astrology was that once a person started getting into it, it would have been as if they had been absorbed into it. If he were to advance right there and then, he would have been compelled to research the art further using the vast amount of materials he had at hand.
However, he had no time for this now. Both he and Sika were giving their lives for their children right up until this moment. That terrifying priest's skill was not something that would have ended when it was used. That was something that not even Sika knew. Her life would not have seen limited extensions otherwise. Both he and Sika had to make it to level 11, or they would have aged a few hundred years. He would have ended up looking like that old mage, seeing his life gradually draining away. If he were to pass that point, advancing would not have been able to extend Saleen's life anymore.
”Saleen, help Ojarvis out.” Lex was pleading. Someone had managed to disguise themselves as her and infiltrate the royal palace. It was a harrowing experience, as it meant that even beloved ones at their side could turn out to be the enemy at any given moment.
”Viscount, there are ways to see through Ultimate Shapeshifting. You haven't been seeing his majesty much. If you were as close to him as me and master are, no one would have been able to deceive me using Ultimate Shapeshifting,” Nailisi explained to Lex.
”Who permitted you to speak?” Another middle-aged mage berated her.
Saleen knew that things had just taken a dive for the worse. He wanted to stop it but it was too late. Cold beams shot out of Nailisi's green eyes, and the beams looked tangible. Her Grey Memory lashed out right there and then. The mage never expected Nailisi to attack in such an environment, and it was too late for him to attack. The old mage behind Ojarvis cast light magic all of a sudden. Over a dozen beams fell onto Nailisi, locking her in place. The flash from the Grey Memory rebounded repeatedly within the beams, dissipating only after quite a while. The chest of that middle-aged mage had a gash on it nonetheless.
”Your Highness Saleen, aren't you taking this too far?” The old mage said to Saleen.
”Hardly. I'm here with Nailisi to help his majesty. Since when did he get to tell my people what to do?” Saleen then pointed at the middle-aged mage and said, ”Furthermore, this guy is a spy.”
”That's impossible!” Rage was seen in that old mage's murky eyes as he said, ”That is my son.”
”So are you saying that your son couldn't have been a spy? What logic is this?” Nailisi questioned him. The beams surrounding her had completely dissipated. The power of Grey Memory was something that not even level-11 mages could have easily dispelled using simple spells. The old mage was speechless. His words were logically incorrect. Even angels had betrayed their gods before, and there was no guarantee that his son would not have done the same. However, he had absolute trust in his son. It was logically incorrect, but not sentimentally so. However, mages did not go about doing things driven by sentiments. Nailisi's retort was something that he had no answer for.
”Your Highness Saleen, please present your evidence for saying that. Or else…”
”Or else what? The poison in his majesty's body would have only enabled him to live six days at most, no matter how hard the rest of you work. That is the time of one week, and the time it would take for the sun and moon of Myers Mainland to complete a cycle. All six elements would have finished a complete cycle of vibration. There is simply no way to cure the poison. Worse still, his majesty is under great pain now, and he might make wrong decisions due to the pain, and that would have been enough to doom the Qin Empire.”
”The poison is really something indeed.” The old mage said to Saleen, ”But since you've accused my son of being a spy, you need to give me a reason one way or another. Or else, I'll exchange my life for yours.”
Saleen lifted a finger and swung it left and right at the old mage, saying, ”Your life is worth nothing. No need for threats, I'll be giving you the answer soon. I take it that all in this room have been subjected to level-11 lie detection, no?”
”Indeed!” The old mage said proudly. While he had indeed been staunch in defending his son, he had nonetheless screened his son using level-12 lie detection before letting him enter the magic cube, for fear of something going wrong. That was to show his loyalty to the Grukos royalty. He had a bit of Grukos blood in his veins. None of the royal mages were truly outsiders. When an enemy appeared, they were compelled to fight the enemy together.
”There is a Deep Hypnosis skill in level-13 divine arts, which is crafted specifically against lie detection magic. It is a dark divine art and not a skill of the Lord of Glory. Your son has been placed under control by the Heretic God using Deep Hypnosis, which would have made him do certain things and only lash out at his majesty all of a sudden, under the command of the Heretic God's oracle. Under normal circumstances, he wouldn't even know of it himself.”
”I want proof!” That middle-aged mage was fuming. He bought none of what Saleen said. From his perspective, Saleen was there to usurp the throne and might have even fooled Lex. This good-for-nothing from Sikeqinya, how did he manage to dupe the viscount!?
”You're a level-10 mage. Putting you under control would have proven difficult. There would need to be an evil medium put into your body. I've only heard things about the Heretic God's skills and I don't know much. I need to test it out to see if what I knew was correct, and I had indeed tested it earlier.” Saleen pointed at the middle-aged mage's feet. Everyone took notice of a golden granule at the mage's feet.
”I cast my territory as soon as I entered the room. Did you all think that I was putting on a show of force?” The old mage nodded. Saleen was indeed a powerful mage, so powerful that even he found Saleen to not be someone that he would have had an easy time dealing with. Saleen cast his lightning territory as soon as he entered the room. The territory was refined to such an extent that it emanated no form nor sound. Pressure from the lightning's might was felt, yet no form of lightning was seen.
”I used Lightning Purification on you and you didn't know of it. That skill would have only worked on everything originating from the Heretic God, exhibiting a suppression effect on it. Take a look,” Saleen said as he took out a crystal glass, which contained a whiff of black mist. Saleen quite literally zapped the bottle, purifying the mist in the bottle as it exited the bottle using Lightning Purification. Everyone saw the mist produce a golden granule, which dropped back into the bottle.
”This is something I acquired at Highland City, which could be purified using all manner of divine arts. A mage's skill would have worked as well.”
That middle-aged mage's face was ashen as he said, ”So I was the one who poisoned his majesty then?”
”Not necessarily you, but you could have been rendered under the Heretic God's oracle's control at any given moment while you were in this magic cube. With the abomination plane launching an invasion here, there would have definitely been quite a number of oracles making their way into Myers Mainland. I haven't been able to put a lockdown on the abominations at Highland City…” Saleen sighed. Even if he were to plug the portal at Highland City, it would not have done any good. There was already a portal leading to the abomination plane right there at Holy Rock City after all.
All the mages used lie-detection magic on Saleen, and he willingly was tested. Everyone disappointedly found that Saleen was not lying.
”Deep Hypnosis could be suppressed. It is just a level-13 divine spell after all.”
The middle-aged mage looked dejected, and it seemed as if he was not hearing anything that Saleen said. He turned to Ojarvis and asked, ”Your majesty, what should I do?”
”What should I do?” Nailisi asked with a puzzled look. She saw only anxiety in the mage's eyes instead of fear. She initially thought that the mage would have either fought for his life or killed himself, after he was ratted out by Saleen. However, he actually turned to ask the emperor what he should do instead.
The old mage then gave Saleen a detailed explanation. The magic cube was not in a complete state during its fabrication process, necessitating mages of the six major elements to man the place at the core. All six mages in the room were adept at an elemental form of magic each and had been very proficient and knowledgeable in their respective arts. It had been something that the royal mages of the Qin Empire had been preparing in secret. The son of the old mage was adept at earth magic and was one of the key people at controlling the hub.
However, now he heard from Saleen that he had been subjected to hypnosis by an oracle of the Heretic God, and could have done things proven harmful to the emperor at any given moment. The middle-aged mage was afraid that no one would be able to take his place at manning the magic cube. If the magic cube was to lack one such person manning it, its powers would have been drastically reduced and become little more than a very powerful magic tower. Many magic towers had been destroyed in the abominations' invasion. No magic tower, regardless of how powerful it might have been, would have proven adequate to stop the abominations' invasion.
”Master, I have a solution which would free you from the Heretic God's oracle's control, but it would only be a temporary one and have requirements for the environment it is used in,” Saleen said.
”What requirements?” The middle-aged mage asked anxiously. The magic cube was then mostly ready. The humongous puppet would have been able to buy them several days' worth of time. When that puppet ended up destroyed, the magic cube would have been almost fully operational. It would be difficult to find someone to replace him at such a short notice.
”There are actually two options you could choose from. The first one is the Lightning Cage that I brought with me. No one outside would be able to affect you while you're in it. However, your actions would be affected, as you would only be able to stay in a single place and you wouldn't be able to leave the cage.”
”What about the second option then!?” The middle-aged mage's actions can't be restricted, as it would have made it very difficult for him to man the magic cube otherwise.
”The second option would be to put you under my control. I have a secret art that could bestow your soul with powerful protection, at least when beings below level 13 are concerned. No one would be able to affect you without me giving the permission to do so. If I'm present, not even the Lord of Glory would have been able to control your soul, even if he were to intervene personally.”
”But, my soul would be put under your control, no?” The middle-aged mage asked with a dejected expression.
”Not quite actually. Your soul would be controlled by my skill, but I wouldn't be able to simply force you to do my bidding. The most I could do...well, is to torture your soul forever,” Saleen answered frankly.
The middle-aged mage was hardly surprised. Saleen's ability of protecting the souls of others would have needed to cast a layer of something resembling a protective shell. If this were to be added to his soul, it would have meant that his soul was imprisoned.